A critical objective for MICUA member institutions is to increase diversity among faculty and administrators. As Goucher College President José Antonio Bowen wrote in an April 2016 editorial in the Baltimore Sun: “College is a time of self-exploration and identity development, so it’s critical that students have role models and mentors to whom they can relate. Recent events nationwide and in Baltimore have concentrated our focus at Goucher College to re-evaluate ourselves and our culture in terms of how we’re ensuring accessibility and equity on campus in everything we do.” He further stated, “When asked what they value in job candidates, employers again and again say they seek college graduates who are able to solve complex problems while working with people who are different from themselves. That requires diverse communities of learners.” To reach a wide pool of candidates, job searches for faculty and staff on MICUA campuses are consciously designed to be inclusive. Recruitment notices are placed in traditional higher education publications circulated among underrepresented groups, such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Hispanic Outlook, Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, and Women in Higher Education, in addition to social media sites and online publications.

Diverse Faculty

Over the past year, Stevenson University has established a new initiative in the area of diversity that is intended to assist in the recruitment of faculty from diverse backgrounds. Specifically, the new position of Associate Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion, and Compliance has been established. The individual occupying this position will be active in all searches to assist in soliciting applications from faculty of diverse backgrounds. Additionally, the Associate Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion, and Compliance will serve as a member of search committees to ensure that all searches are run with appropriate sensitivity to candidates of various cultural backgrounds. Each new full-time faculty member at Stevenson who holds the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor has a Faculty Mentoring and Evaluation Committee (FMEC) to assist in ongoing evaluations and to prepare the faculty member to be successful in the pursuit of promotion to higher ranks. This FMEC consists of the chair of the appropriate department as well as two other faculty members of higher rank, one from within and another from outside the mentee’s department. They are chosen by the faculty member in consultation with the chair. The purpose of the FMEC is to provide optimal opportunity for the new faculty member to adjust to the institutional culture and become successful.

At Loyola University Maryland, the Office of Academic Affairs has developed recruitment and retention policies that follow best practices in diversity and inclusion for faculty hiring. Once a faculty line is approved, there are mandatory training sessions with search committees, including a component on disrupting implicit bias, external search committee members appointed from outside the department, strategy sessions with the Dean and Academic Affairs on how to build a diverse and talented pool, a mandatory affirmation of the diversity of the pool before proceeding to semi-finalist interviews, and efforts to incorporate best practices and information about institutional diversity into campus visits. Academic Affairs works with search committees and departments to connect recruitment with faculty development and retention, including a universal tenure-track mentoring program pairing all first-year tenure-track faculty with mentors outside their home department, supported by mentor training and resources on issues faced by minority faculty. In addition, the yearlong New Faculty Orientation includes information about institutional commitments to diversity and resources for minority faculty, including best practices informing monthly conversations about life on the tenure track to demystify the profession and bring attention to patterns that disproportionately affect minority faculty. This year, faculty collaborated on a Faculty Thinkspace on Race and Diversity to provide ongoing community dialogue around how to address race and racism in the college classroom. The University’s semi-annual teaching enhancement workshops focused on diversifying Loyola’s student body (fall 2015) and diversifying pedagogies (spring 2016). In April 2016, Loyola hosted the Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Recruitment Consortium meeting on fostering diversity.

At Goucher College for the 2015-2016 academic year, 54 percent of all new full-time faculty identified with a non-majority cultural group. The faculty recruitment process was revamped to ensure that position listings were posted on a variety of culturally diverse websites. Moreover, position announcements specifically mentioned the College’s commitment to diversity. As part of the position authorization and hiring process, departments were asked to assemble diverse search committees and to provide a detailed plan to the Provost describing specific recruitment strategies aimed at attracting a diverse applicant pool. Faculty search committees were also encouraged to include interview questions about inclusive pedagogies. New full-time faculty members participate in a two-day faculty orientation and a year-long development program to provide support with campus acclimation; to discuss classroom and pedagogical challenges; to share information about the reappointment, promotion, and tenure process; and to introduce new faculty to academic support offices. A formal mentoring program runs concurrently with this development program and pairs each new faculty member at Goucher with a senior faculty member. Faculty from underrepresented groups are paired with senior faculty or staff from similar backgrounds whenever possible, and new faculty and their mentors meet informally throughout the year. Specific workshops addressing diversity were included as part of this year’s faculty development series.

>Notre Dame of Maryland University understands that the recruitment of diverse faculty and staff members is the first step in creating a diverse campus community. Over the past few months, several new minority faculty members have been added to the Notre Dame community. There are a number of activities and initiatives that support the recruitment and retention of highly qualified and diverse faculty. For example, all new faculty are paired with a senior faculty member, which helps establish partnerships that enable faculty to share their knowledge and experiences with one another. Job advertisements include a diversity statement that welcomes diverse applicants, as well as those applicants who value diversity, to apply. This practice reinforces NDMU’s mission, values, and goals to broaden institution-wide commitment to diversity and inclusion and to create a campus environment that recognizes and appreciates the talents, skills, and perspectives of every member. The Vice President of Mission conducts a yearlong training for new faculty and senior administrators on the legacy of the School Sisters and the history of the University. This program helps to build an inclusive community and provides new faculty an opportunity to personally experience strength in differences and facilitate relationships that build community. During the 2015-2016 academic year, NDMU participated in the Faculty Institutes Guide to Diversity and Inclusion. Led by a nationally recognized diversity trainer, this program featured activities that challenged assumptions, urged participants to consider aspects of their individual identities, and facilitated strategies to create a more inclusive campus community.

In December 2015, Johns Hopkins University announced a $25 million initiative to increase the diversity of its faculty. The University’s schools, colleges, and divisions have a number of strategies in place to recruit diverse faculty and to follow best practices and policies recommended by the Provost’s Office. For example, the Peabody Institute has developed a Faculty Diversity Action Plan. Members of search committees complete online training, and each committee also has an appointed diversity advocate. In 2015, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) began a multi-year effort to attract new faculty and expand the number of full-time, tenure-track faculty at the school. The search committees sought out candidates with diverse backgrounds who could offer different perspectives that could complement and challenge the strengths of the current faculty. Of the seven new hires in fall 2015, more than half are women and three are international scholars. The School of Education established a Faculty Development Committee as part of the new Faculty Senate, which works to ensure that professional development is embedded as a key element in the faculty culture. The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences recently appointed an Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion to oversee and coordinate diversity efforts. The School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Cultural Competence has led efforts to recruit talented underrepresented faculty and trainees and to ensure that the School is vigorously pursuing its goal of a diverse climate. In addition, the Dean’s Office awards funding for academic plans and projects to support incoming or current underrepresented minority faculty through a competitive process. The Office of Faculty Development creates programs to support and develop diverse faculty as leaders in critical care, medical education, and research excellence, including the Junior Faculty Leadership Program and Leadership Development Program.

Diverse Administrators

Hood College actively seeks to recruit diverse candidates at all levels of the administration. Currently, four of the College’s seven senior level administrators are women. The College uses a search firm to recruit candidates at the senior level, and these firms are informed of the College’s commitment to diversity beyond what is traditionally included in job announcements. Recruitment notices for senior level and management positions are placed in traditional higher education publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, Diverse, and Hispanic Outlook, as well as other publications, websites, and job placement boards that are targeted to reach specific minority populations. The College’s commitment to diversity is also reflected in the makeup of the Board of Trustees, and through the efforts of the Trustee and Governance Committee, the Board is committed to recruiting diverse leadership.

St. John’s College has many efforts in place to recruit diverse administrators and to create a campus community that is a welcoming place for people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. A majority of the administrative positions on campus are held by women. There are mentoring and leadership development programs in place to encourage and support the career progression of culturally diverse administrators. As a small campus community, this work is facilitated through person-to-person interaction and individual care and attention for staff development.

At Washington College, racial and gender diversity is reflected in the composition of both the executive leadership team and the Board of Visitors and Governors. The College supports the professional development of its leadership team through regular participation in professional conferences. In recent years, the College has supported three of its minority members to attend the Harvard Institute for Educational Management, an intensive, total-immersion experience that provides a rare opportunity to assess one’s leadership skills, renew one’s commitment to higher education, and develop tangible strategies for long-term professional and institutional success.

Maryland Institute College of Art uses search firms to include diverse candidates in the pools they present and ensures that selection panels represent a diverse population. In support of the faculty and administrators of color, the Assistant Dean for Diversity hosts a monthly off-campus faculty and administrators of color dinner to provide resources, conversations, and support. Twice a year, this group meets with the President, Provost, and other allies to discuss campus interests and issues that are most germane to faculty and administrators of color.

Washington Adventist University’s leadership clearly reflects the faces of diversity on campus. The University currently has a very diverse student population, and promotes this trend by ensuring that its faculty, staff, and administrators reflect this diversity. Programs in place to support culturally diverse administrators include mentoring and leadership development programs to encourage, promote, and retain persons of color in leadership positions. WAU’s mentoring and leadership programs are offered for and are equally accessible by persons of all races and ethnicities. The institution received a significant grant in 2009 to provide master’s preparation programs to low income and minority populations.

Johns Hopkins University’s Krieger School of Arts and Sciences reports that 48 percent of full-time staff is from underrepresented minority groups. In addition, the School has dedicated resources to advertise in places that attract diverse candidates for director-level positions and above, in order to ensure that they are receiving applicants from underrepresented groups. The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) administrative staff is particularly diverse, and approximately half of its director-level officers are people of color. In addition, half of its assistant and associate dean staff in Washington, D.C., is female. The Bloomberg School of Public Health has made it a goal to increase the number of women who chair academic departments, and has recently recruited a number of academic administrators who are women. The School of Education has strong female representation in its leadership positions, 25 percent of whom are minority. In addition, 36 percent of the School’s academic program leads and center director positions are held by women.